In a complete reversal of the woes from Week 2, everything went right for the Saints in a 28-13 victory over the Patriots in New England.
That was true even when things seemingly went wrong, including an attempted throwaway out the back of the end zone by Jameis Winston that landed in the hands of Marquez Callaway for his first career touchdown grab.
In the end it was the Saints' second win in three weeks despite Winston being yet to top 150 yards passing in a game this season.
━━━━
TUNE IN
WWL Saints Coaches Show
What: Hear from Saints coach Sean Payton & others
When: 6:30 p.m. every Monday
Where: WWL AM-870; FM-105.3 & The Audacy App
━━━━
"Still a lot of question marks, not a finished product by any means ... I mean it was just things kind of fell their way," said Voice of the Saints Mike Hoss in his weekly From the Press Box show Monday morning with WWL Digital Sports Producer Jeff Nowak.
"But to really come through this stretch, irrespective of who they played and how they played, to come through this stretch at 2-1 heading home to play a home game against the Giants ... impressive," Hoss said.
Hoss points to the Malcolm Jenkins interception return for a touchdown 9 seconds into the second half and Deonte Harris' clutch third-down conversion to kick off a clinching scoring drive as the two key moments that truly set up the win.
"When it looked like the momentum was switching the Saints got it back with those plays," Hoss said.
In the end it was the Saints defense that really took control of the game from the opening, picking off Patriots rookie Mac Jones three times with each resulting in a long return. The final interception officially sealed the result, with Marshon Lattimore jumping in front of Jones' pass as he drove for a fantasy-points score in the final minutes. The Saints special teams groups had another impressive day, blocking a punt for the second week in a row -- with Andrew Dowell breaking through to knock back the Jake Bailey kick.
Related
"There are a lot of question marks on the offensive side of the ball ... but this defense is a title-caliber defense, and all you really need to do to win games, especially in the regular season, is play complementary football," Nowak said. "And they did that."
Saints coach Sean Payton harped all week that the Saints needed to win the turnover battle, and they did that easily, with the offense avoiding any TOs for the second time this year.
Next up: A return home and a matchup with the New York Giants in the Caesars Superdome.
Check out the full From The Press Box show in the player at the top of the page, and remember to subscribe to WWL Sports on Youtube for the latest news, notes and analysis as the season rolls on.
Related
